"No, the Two-Tails is actually pretty easy to get along with. She just loves meddling in my private life. It's so annoying." Yugito smiled, glossing over how the Two-Tails kept urging her to find a powerful partner. After all, she had wanted Yugito to snag every powerful man she had met before, but those had only been offhand remarks. Never before had she pushed the idea as enthusiastically as she did this time.
"By the way, Yugi-chan, I wanted to ask-what was life like for you in Kumogakure when you were little?" Naruto asked curiously, wondering whether she had suffered as much as he had. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to," he quickly added.
"It's fine. I don't mind talking about it. My childhood was miserable. Everyone avoided me and shut me out. Only Lord Raikage and his younger brother, Killer B, were kind to me. I could never understand why. I knew Kumogakure had two jinchūriki: me and the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki. But they treated him like an honored guest and me like dirt. Everyone sang his praises, while all I ever got were looks of disgust. Living like that was truly painful."
As soon as Yugito finished speaking, she felt Naruto reach out and gently wrap his arms around her, trying to comfort her with a hug. Her composure crumbled at once. Tears spilled from her eyes, and she buried her face in the blond boy's shoulder, sobbing aloud.
"It's okay, Yugi-chan. I know all too well what that's like. I was kicked out of the Orphanage when I was four and spent half a year living on the streets. In the end, the old man's Anbu found me in an alley, almost dead from starvation." Naruto gently patted her back as he told her the story of his life.
Wow, she's still so pretty even when she cries. But I'd rather see her smile. She must look even prettier when she smiles. I wonder what kissing her would feel like... No, I can't think about that stuff. I'm not the Pervy Sage. As those thoughts ran through Naruto's mind, he kept telling his story. Neither of them let go of the embrace.
After Naruto finished his story, they talked about all sorts of everyday things, like their favorite foods. Hearing that she had a Cat Demon living inside her yet loved sushi more than anything made him laugh uncontrollably. They also talked about their favorite colors and even their romantic histories. When Yugito said she had once gone on a date with a boy, an inexplicable pang of jealousy shot through Naruto. But when she told him that afterward, the boy had bragged to his friends that he would soon get to sleep with that "demon slut," intense killing intent erupted from Naruto.
Before they knew it, night was drawing near. Yugito said she had to leave, but would come back tomorrow, and asked whether she could help him train. Naruto immediately nodded happily. Only then did he remember that his clones were still scattered around practicing chakra control, so he dispelled them in batches of ten and headed back to the hotel.
Over the next few days, Naruto and Yugito spent more and more time together. Naruto sent his Shadow Clones off to train while his real body chatted with Yugito, gradually learning everything about each other.
A few days before the deadline for the bet, Naruto asked, "Um, Yugi-chan, would you like to have lunch with me?"
"If I heard you right, Naruto-kun, are you asking me on a date?" Yugito teased, a faint blush coloring her cheeks.
"Huh? No, uh, I just wanted to take a break and grab something to eat, so I thought I'd ask if you wanted to come. It's not a date... unless you want it to be." As Naruto spoke, his face reddened too.
"Oh, is that so, little whiskers? Then I'd love to. Since it's a date, you're paying. Come on. After we eat, let's spar. I want to see just how strong you are. There's a sushi restaurant in town that's really good." Smiling, the Two-Tails jinchūriki slipped her arm naturally through Naruto's and pulled him away from the Training Ground, leaving his Shadow Clones to keep practicing. They had just mastered the Metal Ball movement exercise, and two clones were now trying to perform it while climbing trees.
In town, Yugito continued walking with her arm linked through Naruto's, but neither of them knew that a master of stealth and espionage was following them.
A Kumogakure ninja? What's she doing here, and why is she with Naruto? No way. This kid's only thirteen, and he already knows how to pick up pretty kunoichi from other countries? This girl's still too young for me, but this material is incredible! I've already got the plot for my new book: two ninja from enemy villages meet by chance and fall in love, only to be torn apart by war and forced to face each other on the battlefield. In the end, they elope so they can stay together. This is definitely going to be my next bestselling masterpiece!
With those lecherous thoughts running through his head, Jiraiya pulled out a pen and notebook and scribbled furiously, following the pair into a large restaurant.
Naruto watched Yugito polish off plate after plate of sushi, both astonished and pained on behalf of his poor toad wallet. "You really do love sushi. I guess you weren't kidding when you said it was your favorite food," he teased with a smile.
"Of course, Naruto-kun. It's my absolute favorite." She smiled and finished another plate of sushi.
Watching the girl in front of him eat through a week's worth of his allowance in a single meal, Naruto still couldn't help smiling along with her.
"All right, now that we're full, it's time to keep that promise and spar." Naruto grinned at the satisfied-looking girl.
"Of course. You didn't think I'd forgotten, did you? Come on, Naruto-kun." As Yugito spoke, she unconsciously linked her arm through his again. Naruto didn't mind in the slightest. In fact, it made him a little happy.
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